Learning a lot with the new digital medium. Some bright folks on some of the photo forums (esp Luminous Landscapes). Question I asked was whether a landscape photographer's image should hold up to 16x20 srcutiny. I believe - if you're doing landscapes - (almost) every image should. Of course galleries are filled with 8x10 work - many contact prints - which is as "pure" as it gets. But 16x20 bares all. You need a perfect negative, perfect technique & corresponding hardware.
I'll stand by my 4x5 work (no - not the way they're currently sloppily scanned) - with some of the pics I have 10 different copies with slightly different tones. Some I like large, some I feel are best printed small (8x10).
Not at all pleased however with the quality of the digital color. Finally got the answer I was looking for - a $2-4k digital camera (12- 14 mgpx) with good glass (another $1-2K) is producing about the same results as a 40 year old Nikon 35mm film/w Nikon glass. Appears the digital medium format IS the standard (this month!!! - tech making monumental strides seemingly daily) . H'blad just lowered their price to $17k for what seems to be an entry level "serious" landscape camera.
Happy that I got some of the digital shots - was there when the light was right, or the scene presented itself, but you can't take pictures of trees and not have the branches and bark be sharp, looks like a muddled mess.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
1st Website
This was quite an experience getting photos on a website, I guess that's why people pay substantial sums of $$$ to have their websites done professionally. As of right now:
1. Most of the Photos taken in the past 5 years are digital.
2. The Black and White scanning is horrible, all were scanned from mounted and matted prints. I'll need to research and correct. Primary issues are file size & dust - scanned at 600DPI and dust everywhere. I guess you have to control that during the scanning. Working then with the scanned images in Lightroom and Photoshop was a chore - guess I don't have enough knowledge yet and maybe file sizes were too big - but a saved file that looked fine turned into a nightmare next time I opened it.
3. The Digital process is fun. Opens the world of color. Amazing what you can do with Lightroom. I'm currently using a Nikon D300 for color and not sure I can produce a sellable image over 11x14 - though probably many can and do. I have seen what the Hasselblads, with the 39megapixel backs can do - and it seems that's the standard of quality measurement.
Anyway, you have to start somewhere...
1. Most of the Photos taken in the past 5 years are digital.
2. The Black and White scanning is horrible, all were scanned from mounted and matted prints. I'll need to research and correct. Primary issues are file size & dust - scanned at 600DPI and dust everywhere. I guess you have to control that during the scanning. Working then with the scanned images in Lightroom and Photoshop was a chore - guess I don't have enough knowledge yet and maybe file sizes were too big - but a saved file that looked fine turned into a nightmare next time I opened it.
3. The Digital process is fun. Opens the world of color. Amazing what you can do with Lightroom. I'm currently using a Nikon D300 for color and not sure I can produce a sellable image over 11x14 - though probably many can and do. I have seen what the Hasselblads, with the 39megapixel backs can do - and it seems that's the standard of quality measurement.
Anyway, you have to start somewhere...
Large Format Black & White
For years I have used a large format 4x5 camera and have slowly assembled a portfolio of prints - maybe 40-50 or so, that have been printed, mounted and matted... and stored in an archival box in my basement. Just a decade or so ago, there were very limited opportunities for "non professional" photographers to have their work viewed; maybe a sidewalk art show, maybe sending a portfolio to the many available juried contests, or maybe a small show in some small shop.
All has changed with the Internet. Some of the portfolios on the Web are just awesome - showing there's a lot of people with both a passion and a great eye for photography. The Internet certainly has opened the floodgates so the substantial talents of so many can easily be seen.
I bought my first camera - a Nikon F-2 Photomic back in the 70's. This camera traveled with me everywhere, from many backpacking trips in the Adirondacks or Smoky Mountains, to sports events or family get-togethers.
The problem was, the film was dropped off at the lab and would come back in various stages of quality - some too contrasty, some right on, some overexposed. The lack of control - to do much of anything with color - was not very satisfying. I wanted to make sure for myself that the print correctly showed the information that was captured on the negative. Color was just too difficult to control, both with negative development and the print making and and the limitations of 35mm film quickly became evident.
Working with 4x5 B&W has been rewarding. It is simple in respect to not having to look at many small 35mm negatives to see if everything was perfect, sharp and correctly exposed. Simple in respect to equipment, an extremely basic mono-rail camera, 90 % of all picture using a Schnedier 210 lens, a develpment process that seldom varied from HC110, Dektol, and Oriental Seagul paper. And simple of course because of an in-home darkrooom.
It all came down to being able to make an 8x10 print from a 4x5 negative that would hold up to techncial scrutiny of a majority of viewers. Whether they liked the image or not - that was a matter of personal preference. I just didn't want grain, dust spots, incorrect expopsure or development affecting a person's opinion of an image.
It's been a long layoff from the 4x5 days, raising a family and everything else, but my Daughter's photo course in the Fall of '07 got me back in the darkroom. Now having images to have viewed on the Web - rather than stored in boxes in the workroom, has me once again packing my Pentax Spotmeter, the film holders and the 4x5 camera in my car.
I have boxes of outdated paper and need to research which products have so far survived the Digital phenomenon. But all the hardware - the camera, the lenses, the enlarger & meters, will produce the same levels of quality they did for the past 75-100 years. Despite drastic changes in photography, simple 4x5 B&W has not been surpassed. I'm excited to get back in the field - and in the darkroom, looking for the perfect image at the perfect time with the perfect light.
All has changed with the Internet. Some of the portfolios on the Web are just awesome - showing there's a lot of people with both a passion and a great eye for photography. The Internet certainly has opened the floodgates so the substantial talents of so many can easily be seen.
I bought my first camera - a Nikon F-2 Photomic back in the 70's. This camera traveled with me everywhere, from many backpacking trips in the Adirondacks or Smoky Mountains, to sports events or family get-togethers.
The problem was, the film was dropped off at the lab and would come back in various stages of quality - some too contrasty, some right on, some overexposed. The lack of control - to do much of anything with color - was not very satisfying. I wanted to make sure for myself that the print correctly showed the information that was captured on the negative. Color was just too difficult to control, both with negative development and the print making and and the limitations of 35mm film quickly became evident.
Working with 4x5 B&W has been rewarding. It is simple in respect to not having to look at many small 35mm negatives to see if everything was perfect, sharp and correctly exposed. Simple in respect to equipment, an extremely basic mono-rail camera, 90 % of all picture using a Schnedier 210 lens, a develpment process that seldom varied from HC110, Dektol, and Oriental Seagul paper. And simple of course because of an in-home darkrooom.
It all came down to being able to make an 8x10 print from a 4x5 negative that would hold up to techncial scrutiny of a majority of viewers. Whether they liked the image or not - that was a matter of personal preference. I just didn't want grain, dust spots, incorrect expopsure or development affecting a person's opinion of an image.
It's been a long layoff from the 4x5 days, raising a family and everything else, but my Daughter's photo course in the Fall of '07 got me back in the darkroom. Now having images to have viewed on the Web - rather than stored in boxes in the workroom, has me once again packing my Pentax Spotmeter, the film holders and the 4x5 camera in my car.
I have boxes of outdated paper and need to research which products have so far survived the Digital phenomenon. But all the hardware - the camera, the lenses, the enlarger & meters, will produce the same levels of quality they did for the past 75-100 years. Despite drastic changes in photography, simple 4x5 B&W has not been surpassed. I'm excited to get back in the field - and in the darkroom, looking for the perfect image at the perfect time with the perfect light.
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